Turtle Bay in Nottingham is located in the Corner House – central to the city. We went on a Saturday evening and the place was jam-packed.
There’s a great vibe at this place. Cool, reggae music (I think that’s the genre), the staff are really laid back and friendly. Plus, the restaurant is really well decked out with funky decorations, lighting and a cool shack-type bar in the middle.
The menu has great variety and there’s definitely a jerk theme going on. Unable to decide on a starter, my wife and I opt for the beach food platter to start – a mix of spicy jerk chicken wings, pepper roti, sweetcorn fritters and flatbreads.
We order with our waiter, Ray, who was really knowledgeable about what’s on the menu, and a great laugh too. If we were at a bigger table we would have asked him to join us. My wife also wanted to take him home, but after some persuasion, I convinced her it probably wasn’t such a good idea!
We also order our wine. Lovers of red, we chose the Malbec. I know I use this phrase a lot when it comes to wine, but my God was this an easy drinker! A really nice bottle I’d certainly recommend.
Our starter comes – nicely served on a chopping board and it was the perfect amount for two to share. The sweetcorn fritters and pepper roti’s were exceptionally good and really flavoursome. I really felt like I was trying lots of new things I hadn't tried before as a starter - a refreshing change.
We order another bottle of wine 
For our mains, my wife ordered the one pot Caribbean curry fish and I order the double dipped steak (medium rare). For sides we order cheesy jerk fries and sweet plantain. Lovely Ray brings our food over and I’m delighted to say the steak was cooked PERFECTLY – just how I asked. There’s nothing more satisfying than getting your steak delivered just how you asked for it. I had it with the coconut jerk glaze which made this a serious flavour-bomb of a dish – I definitely recommend.
My wife’s one-pot fish curry was also reeeeeaaally tasty with generously sized chunks of fish. Again, lots of flavour and no chance of going hungry afterwards! The cheesy jerk sweet potato fries tasted lovely – but hey, that goes for anything with cheese on! The plantain was a bit of experiment for us. They look a bit like banana but taste a lot sweeter – these were deep fried. My wife wasn’t keen but I loved them, so I’m glad I gave them a go. Apparently the sweetness depends on how ripe they are when they’re cooked, so this could vary.
Unfortunately we didn’t have room for dessert, although the choices did look very appetising. Since our meal we’ve also been to a rum cocktail making session at Turtle Bay which made me sorry we didn’t try a cocktail. I’d certainly recommend the Mai Tai and Mojito – Go up to watch the bartender make them too, as they do put quite a bit of effort into it.
So to conclude, there wasn’t anything we didn’t like about our evening at Turtle Bay. It’s a really informal affair and the food and drink is top notch. I’m aware Turtle Bay is becoming more and more popular and I was worried it would be a bit “chainy”. Luckily, I didn’t get that vibe at all. I would definitely recommend booking because this place always looks busy. But also, this is the perfect place to experiment and try new flavours – don’t go without trying something new to eat and drinking one of their lovely cocktails.
We miss you Ray!
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